98 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1889. 



Rev. Fred. H. H. Post (313 Church Street, Salem, Oregon) proposes to make explora- 

 tions, etc., near Anvik on the Yukon river, Alaska, and to transmit collections 

 to the Museum. 



W. W. Rockhill (Peking, China) offers to secure ethnological specimens in China 

 and Thibet. 



Charles Ruby (acting steward, U. S. Army, Fort Assiniboine, Montana Territory) 

 offers to collect specimens of birds and mammals in his vicinity. 



Edwin Russ offers to make collections in southwestern Oregon. 



Prof. Israel C. Russel (U. S. Geological Survey) offers to make collections in Alaska 

 of zoological, botanical, and ethnological specimens. 



James A. Singley (Giddings, Texas) informs the Smithsonian Institution of his in- 

 tention to spend the spring months in southwestern Texas, for the purpose of col- 

 lecting shells, birds, and eggs. 



H. L. Scaylem(176 Prospect Avenue, Jauesville, Wis.) offers to collect mammals in 

 the vicinity of Jauesville. 



Vix Smith (Lyon Post-office, Madison County, Montana) offers to collect specimens 

 of living animals for the National Zoological Park. 



Dr. John Sunberg (405 Montgomery street, San Francisco) desires to act as agent 

 of the Smithsonian Institution for the purpose of collecting specimens in the re- 

 gions of the Persian Gulf, and the Euphrates Valley. 



Lieut. E. H. Taunt, U. S. Navy (909 Sixteenth street northwest, Washington, District 

 of Columbia) offers to continue his work of collecting material for the Museum in 

 the Congo Valley, South Africa. 



Talcott Williams (1833 Spruce street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) informs the 

 Smithsonian Institution of his proposed trip to Morocco, and offers to make scien- 

 tific researches in botany, geology, and ethnology. 



It has been found impracticable to accept several of these offers. 

 Among those which have been accepted, and which have resulted most 

 favorably to the Museum, may be mentioned the explorations of Mr. 

 Talcott Williams, Dr. John M. Crawford, Mr. Jeremiah Curtin, Mr. W. 

 W. Kockhill, Prof. I. C. Russell, aud Lieut. E. H. Taunt. 



Special reference to the results of their work is made under the head 

 of " Exploration." 



A special feature of the routine work of this department is the 

 method of indexing letters written. A card has been prepared on 

 which is written the name and address of each correspondent, together 

 with the number of the letter-books and pages in which all letters to a 

 given person have been copied, including the date of each letter. By 

 this means can be ascertained at a glance the amount of correspondence 

 with any person. This has been found exceedingly convenient. More 

 than five thousand of these cards have been filled up during the year 

 relating to letters written since 1887. These cards are arranged alpha- 

 betically and kept in long boxes divided into compartments, one or more 

 of which are devoted, as required, to a single letter of the alphabet. 

 Cross references are made under the name of the Government depart- 

 ment or private establishment with which the person addressed may be 

 connected. For instance, all letters written to any official in the Treas- 

 ury Department are recorded on cards headed "Treasury Department," 

 and another card is filed under the name of the person addressed. 

 This is particularly convenient in the case of the Government depart- 

 ments where changes of officials are more or less frequently ocurring. 



